Our Story
In 2020, the National Weather Service celebrated its 150th Anniversary and began another century of protecting lives and property. In honor of those many years of service, we embarked on a journey to collect, track, catalog, and share the documents, photos, research, artifacts, and, most importantly, the stories of our history, now and for future generations. In doing so, a compelling narrative began to emerge, one that traces the similarities and parallels between our history and the realities of larger historical forces by highlighting the events, science and technology advances, people, and the internal and external social influences that drove change during our more than 150-year history. 

These were the crossroads along our journey – the intersections at which key decisions would determine the path we would take. Those decisions shaped who we are as an agency today, and continue to inspire our future. It’s fascinating to look backward and see how our growth and our emphasis on data collection, first for climatological studies and then for real-time forecasting of the weather, brought us to where we are today. Reliving our past brings our mission of protecting lives and property and enhancing the nation’s economy into sharper focus ... a mission we’ve been passionate about since day one. 

So, come along with us on a journey back in time as we revisit these fascinating parallels between yesterday and today and explore the crossroads in our history.